The Little Things
by Redd
Summary: Five things that five people on Destiny miss.First up was Eli, then TJ, Matt and Chloe. Finally, here's Rush!
1. Chapter 1

A/n: I don't own please don't sue.

All right, so this is the first time I've tried writing anyone from universe, but cripes they're fascinating. I also didn't want to be too obvious with everything in them, but I think Eli's has most of what you'd expect it to.

So here's the first installment of Five Things Five People on Destiny Miss.

* * *

Five things that Eli Wallace misses:

1. His mother. He knows the Air Force is taking care of her (TJ has had to reassure him repeatedly that General O'Neill will take care of it; that he's a good man who cares about what matters to his people, has to remind Eli that _he_ is one of General O'Neill's people) but...he just doesn't want her to be afraid, or alone. And more than anything else into eh universe, he just wants to get home to see her, one more time, just in case he gets sick.

2. His DVDs. He hasn't been able to see most of his friends since he left MIT (on top of that no job thing) so he spent most of his time with his mother watching old movies. She used to reminisce and say she never had time for them--that her copies had been misplaced. So once a week he'd go and find a copy of some movie that she'd mentioned (it had taken him several months to get his hands on all of them) but when he'd done, she'd been so happy that he didn't even care that he'd soon have to find two jobs just to pay for them.

3. The park. There had been a park up the street from his house that he'd frequented with his parents as a kid, but hadn't had time to visit as an adult. After being stuck on Destiny for who knows how long, he think that maybe he should have gone for more quiet walks and just looked at the stars instead of flying through them.

4. Having a pause button. He was good with games and this is the most amazing thing he could have ever hoped for (the awesome parts, not the near death stuff) but when Young looks at him, barks out orders for things Eli can't do and doesn't understand, he really wishes he could step back, take a deep breath and collect himself. But there are goddamn Aliens attacking the ship and the shield are failing. He always wanted this kind of chance, always thought that he could handle it because he was so good with his games. He never noticed how much he needed that pause button. But then it's over, and they're all alive and TJ smiles comfortingly at him at dinner and Matt claps him on the shoulder, singing his praise and he can't help but wonder if he really needs that button after all.

5. Soda. Not because he's really all that addicted (anymore) but he misses the taste, and, really, anything's better than gruel and water. Except for maybe tomatoes.

* * *

Short, but I like how they're turned out. I'm not sure if I want to put TJ or Matt up next (they're both done) and Chloe's about 2/3's of the way as well. Still working on who Five is. I really wish my brain did not supply the Cylon model number Five. Anyway, tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I don't own (but, oh, how I wish I did.)

All right, so here's TJ. I think I've had the most fun writing her; more fun than I've had writing anyone lately (my own characters included.) This piece has been done since the last post, as I said, but I had wanted to see 'Faith' before I did. God was that an interesting episode -- a very nice change of pace, good character development. I must say, Alaina Huffman was wonderful in every scene she was in, and I loved the scenes with TJ and Matt. It was really great to see their friendship, without Young or Chloe or Rush or Eli or Lt. James around. Reminds me sort of Sam and Daniel. But I could just be crazy.

All (minor) edits now complete, here ya go!

Tamara Johansen

* * *

1. Fresh air. God, what she wouldn't give to just be able to get up and go jogging in the fresh morning air -- when the word was still asleep and the sun was just coming up; if she were lucky her parents chocolate lab, Hugo, would be there with her. What she wouldn't give to go hiking with her father, just one more time before he got too old, just the peace and quiet around her. Instead, she was stuck on this ship -- too important to be able to use the communication stones, too many injuries to let her go off world too often. She really thought that that planet had been where they belonged, that they would be okay. And then goddamn Everett had come and taken her back.

2. Her apartment. Even though she'd had to get rid of it when she'd gotten the transfer to Icarus, she'd loved the lofty, brick walls and large windows. It had been a place for her to relax, to curl up on the window sill with a book, cup of coffee , a warm sweater and just spend an entire afternoon feeling warm and content. During the day it's not so bad, but at night, when the ship is colder than usual and she only has her base jacket and the thin Ancient blanket, when Eli or Everett or Chloe or Lisa pull her from her sleep to check on someone...that's when she misses her sweater and windows the most.

3. Real hospitals with real doctors. She's smart, learns quickly and for as long as she could remember she's wanted to be a doctor -- but she isn't a miracle worker. She isn't Colonel Carter, can't make solutions appear where there are none; she isn't like the Doctor Fraiser that she'd heard some much about, she wouldn't be able to stare down General O'Neill and laugh about it; she isn't as brilliant as Doctor Keller, could never be. But when Eli comes in because he'd been too close to an electrical surge, or Vanessa may have sprained her ankle, or Dale needs some help with breathing exercises, she realizes that even if she doesn't trust herself, _they_ do. And _that's_ the important part.

4. Girls poker night. She'd been told that the tradition had been started in the early days of the Atlantis expedition and had been brought back by a Lieutenant Cadman and furthered by Colonel Carter. She, Lisa and Vanessa had played a few times with the Colonel (when they'd been Earth-side, and then the few times that the Colonel had been able to visit the base) but mostly, on Icarus, it had been them and a few of the civilians, even Camille had joined once. But now, watching Vanessa glance Chloe and Matt, she wonders if they could ever have that again -- if the time will come when she has to choose between them. Not between military and civilian, because that choice she knows she can make...but between friends.

5. Her sister. Natasha and her hadn't always gotten along -- three years apart, Tamara had always felt that she was living in her sisters' shadow. Natasha was shorter than her, had never had anything less than perfect grades, and Tamara thought, a whole hell of a lot prettier than she was; she'd sent her whole life being jealous, but it wasn't until her Natasha had asked her to be her maid of honor at eighteen that they'd become close. Now she was sharing laugh with Chloe over some stupid little thing that had happened two days earlier, thinking that this is what it should have been all along, and she regrets it.

* * *

All right, what TJ's missing is done, though I've got a feeling I will be writing a drabble or two or her coming up. Also, #5 is in the works, officially. You asked for him, you got him. Rush's will be updated after the next episode.


	3. Chapter 3

A/n: YOu know the drill, I don't own anything, so please don't sue me.

Matt was actually pretty difficult to write because we don't really know anything about him, the same problems I seem to be having writing Rush. That said, the last two weeks, I must say, I've really enjoyed Matt's subtle growth and interaction with teh other characters. So here we go!

* * *

Matthew Scott

1. Football. God, does he miss football. He had tried hard to forget his faith long ago, and a buddy of his at the Air Force academy had suggested football. It had been love at first sight. After that first afternoon at a Broncos, he made it a point to be someplace to see the games. Even getting the games taped and shipped out to Icarus hadn't been as bad as this. When he finds out that Brody is an avid Broncos fan too, they spend almost a week arguing about draft picks (because he knows they'll miss those) and all of a sudden, the bold division lines that had separated the ship have started to blur themselves.

2. Restaurants in general. Not because he missed cheeseburgers all that much (even though he really did), but because he wants to take Chloe out on a real date. He wants to take her someplace nice; someplace where she gets to wear a pretty dress and he can to open doors and pull out her chair, because really, he wis a gentleman at heart. But it wasn't just the fancy places he missed. Sometimes, when they were alone he'd tell her about O'Malley's, where they could just go and find a dark booth, maybe play some pool and just have fun and the longing in her face makes him want to take her that much more.

3. O'Malley's, specifically. Not because he liked to drink much, but it wasn't about that. It was someplace he could unwind after work; hell, someplace you could go with your coworkers and bitch about your boss. A tradition for all SGC recruits, one he was more than willing to accept. It was somewhere he belonged and it was a tradition he belonged to, and it made him proud in a weird way. But there are no bars on a ship lost in some forgotten part of the universe. There is no Greer looking at pretty girls (not as openly, at least), there is no TJ hustling him at pool (now she just looks sad and scared all the time), there is no place to just go and relax with friends. They're his family and he really just wants to be normal. He likes to think that when they get back to Earth, he'll get the chance to take Eli so they can have a drink together.

4. Going to church on Sunday mornings. He didn't go as often as he'd liked; shit, he didn't feel as comfortable as he should, but sometimes just the knowledge that he was there in a pew made him feel at home. While he was training with the SGC, he'd gone as often as he could, still looking for redemption that he couldn't find. Once, the day before they were supposed to ship out to Icarus, he'd even managed to drag TJ along.

5. TJ's smile. He knows it weird, but he also knows that she's a beautiful women, and despite that, he'd never really found himself attracted to her, not really. But she was in the academy with him (not that they knew that until later), she was in his batch of recruits for the SGC, and they'd been friends for a while now. Almost family. They used to snicker about Doctor Simms new attempt at facial hair, or hang out and play basketball in the gym, or take their early morning jogs together. When they'd arrived, it had been just the two of them, against the world; too new to really know the true impact of their work, too young to be serious all the time. It had helped them bond, helped them in the field and on base when they'd needed it to. But lately, that little TJ spark had been missing. Oh, she smiles at Chloe (it makes him happy to see them getting along again because he believes with all that he is that those two women need each other), at Greer when he brings food to in infirmary if she's been too busy to go to the mess herself, and at Eli's jokes at dinner in the mess (which aren't always as funny as he thinks, even if some of them seem to be told specifically to make TJ laugh). He knows what's wrong, but he can't help her. God, how he wants to help her; he wished he knew how. There are so many things he wants to protect her from, so many things he wants to hide her from but he can't, and it's _killing_ him, even though he knows she'd never let him. He wanted to tell her he loved her, that she was the sister he wished he'd had--instead he hugged her, and now...now he helps her hide from the Colonel because if a woman like TJ _wants_ to hide, then someone should be allowed to hide her.

* * *

I may have to do a piece with just Matt and TJ, or maybe TJ and Chloe. I haven't decided yet. Anyway, Rush is almsot done and Chloe will be posted soon (hopefully the next few days), so tell me what you think. The reviews, they make me happy.


	4. Chapter 4

A/n: I don't own, you guys shouldn't sue me. I mean, you could, if you wanted to own my textbooks, but I'd like it better if you didn't.

I'm sorry this took so long, Chloe gave me a few more problems than I thought she would (even though she's been mostly done for almost two weeks.) I'd claim finals, but I've been out of classes for a few weeks and have, honestly, just been lazy and working on revisions for my novel. And getting totally distracted by television. But here we go!

* * *

Chloe Armstrong

1. Music. It was the only reason she'd really tolerated going to clubs in the first place. Dancing was fine, but deep down she wasn't really a party girl. It was the music that made her go to club after club. Her father had taught her to play piano when she'd been just a little girl and had loved it. He would often play her a song or two when he'd had trouble sleeping, and she would play the CDs herself when she got older. When she told that to Rush, during one of their many late night talks, he'd been surprised, hadn't thought that she'd be interested in classical music. When she got back from her month long stay on the planet she didn't think she'd have trouble sleeping. She and Matt were working things out, slowly, but surely, and she had been spending most of her spare time with TJ, helping in the infirmary, trying to help and learn what she could, but she was having some trouble readjusting to life on the ship. After the fourth night with no sleep (and a short unintended nap while trying to help TJ do inventory) an iPod and docking station appeared in her room, as if by magic, and Chloe thinks that may have been the best night's sleep she's had since she was four.

2. Clouds. She had taken for granted being able to just look up at blue skies and see them. There would be no laying in a park or a bench with Matt, looking up at the sky and trying to guess what the clouds looked like; there would be no ducking under jackets or overhangs and kissing in the rain while it seemed like every ounce of water on Earth fell down around them.

3. Being her father's aide. It had been a blessing and a curse trying to live up to him, but at the end of the day, she'd always felt like she'd accomplished something, always felt like she had made a difference. It had been her idea that had led them to Eli; she grimaced. She loved Eli dearly, but that had been what started them on this terrible chain of events. Maybe she shouldn't have pushed for that idea, after all. Because of her, they were stuck on this ship, no matter what Rush had done. Because of her, Eli can't be there for his mother if she gets sick. Because of her, TJ wasn't in some class room in Seattle. Because of her, everyone was miserable. But then Matt reaches for her hand and the butterflies start up, and she can't convince herself that maybe it wasn't supposed to be like this.

4. Her friends. Or she thought so. Her former friends She'd felt betrayed by Celina and Josh, yes, but the fact that they didn't really seem to care about her father was what had really sent her over the edge. She'd been friends with Celina since they'd been little girls, only eight when they had met in ballet class; she had dated Josh for almost four years, even though she didn't think she'd ever been truly in love with him. Seeing them together had been the hypothetical feather. The one thing she'd been unwaveringly sure of had been their friendship and in the following days had found it hard to find her balance. She didn't know who she was without being the Senator's daughter, without being Celina's best friend, without being Josh's girlfriend. But then Sergeant Greer tipped his hat to her in the hallway, giving her a small, affectionate smile. At dinner, when Matt and Eli were joking around, TJ nudged her and gave her that 'Boys. What are you going to do with them' eye roll that every woman seemed to know. Then Eli snuck a tomato into her bowl while Matt distracted her with a kiss as TJ laughed. Then she realized, they didn't care who she was as long as at the end of the day she was just Chloe.

5. Strawberry ice cream. It had always been her favorite, which had made her an oddity amongst her chocolate and cookie-dough loving friends, but she didn't care. There was nothing better than fresh, homemade strawberry ice cream. When Lisa showed up early one morning, a bowl a fresh strawberries in hand, Chloe couldn't help but smile.

* * *

He we go, only one left (Rush, if you hadn't heard.) I might do some more sets after this ( I do believe someone requested Camille, and I must admit that I'm intrigued by the challenge) but I think that's when I head at least partially back over to SG-1 land and work on the pieces I have there. Yeah. So please do stop by and tell me what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

A/n: I don't own, please don't sue.

I'd really like to blame research papers for the tardiness on this one, but I've been out for a couple of weeks. Truth is, Rush just gave me the hardest damned time of things, that little bugger. So a little bit later than intended (and probably promised), here's Rush!

* * *

Nicholas Rush.

1. Operas. He enjoys his iPod, yes, but sitting in a room listening to a small piece of metal does not compare to the opera going experience, with a full orchestra and high ceilings and plush chairs. He misses his tux, the champagne, getting to listen to Gloria play her violin. He had liked being the invisible one in their relationship during those events; he loved being able to watch her face light up doing what she truly loved. There had been no demands of him there, no equations to solve, no students whining about heir exams or their proofs; just him and his thoughts, just being able to watch his wife. It was the only place he really felt he had the right to brag, she had chosen _him_ after all, some son of a shipyard worker, when she could have easily married anyone. Now, listening to Brody and Park debate something or other (he really wishes that they'd just _shut up_ and go away) he wishes that he hadn't taken it for granted.

2. Books. He'd never had much patience for literature; he'd been on a scholarship and was therefore not really permitted to take classes outside his given field. Oh, but Gloria had loved them. All kinds of books, too. Back in their house they'd had an entire wall of books (used, old things, with cracked spines and worn covers) that she'd wanted to read before she died. She had read, every day when she'd been sick. She'd made it through ever book except one, and he carried it with him everywhere, ultimately unable to part with it. In the end, he had been too busy, trying to solve the secrets of the Stargate, too busy trying to be the genius who could solve the unsolvable to be with her when she'd left. Someday, he promised himself, he'd finish it.

3. Coffee. Not because of his caffeine problem (he refused to call it an addiction, but that was part of his problem being nice, that withdrawal) but because it was a good ice breaker. He'd never been very good at meeting people (shocker, there) or he'd never had time or they'd just been too arrogant for his liking. But when he'd made his way to Stargate Command, working with people had been a must. He and Mandy had bonded over coffee, and he'd had several enlightening conversations with the ever wonderful and quirky Samantha Carter as they sat in the mess and enjoyed a cup. Sometimes Doctor Jackson would join them, sometimes it was Rodney McKay (and he was much easier to deal with when they'd _both_ had coffee and_ lots_ of it.) He felt disconnected from everyone without it. But then Lieutenant Johansen has a quip ready for his sluggish scientists (is she the only one not going through a withdrawal of some kind? Must be nice) and sends a little conspiratorial wink his way and suddenly, his chest feels a bit lighter and his day isn't so hard.

4. Chess. If coffee was his way of making friends (if one could call it that) chess had been way of making problems fit together. Everything seemed to be so much simpler when he was playing chess -- whatever answers were eluding him seemed to appear out of nowhere. His father -- God rest his soul -- had taught him to play when he'd been only four, told him that if a man were decent, had any sense of honor, then he played chess. The chess set he'd learned to play with had been in his family for at least a hundred years, all smooth wood and hand carved ivory pieces. He wishes it was here with him, not stuffed in some portable storage unit. He's resigned himself that it doesn't matter if he was one with him here (he's much too busy to play, after all) but then Lieutenant Scott sheepishly mentions over dinner (Chloe is there, too, and Lieutenant Johansen, because Chloe wants them all to get along) that he'd never learned to play, that his father had loved the game but died before he'd been able to teach his son how to play, and suddenly, almost before he knows what he's done, Nicholas finds himself carving little pieces out of wood. He tells himself that it's because _he_ misses it, but deep down, he knows that Lieutenant Scott is as decent and honorable as they come, and he wants desperately to wave that white flag and prove (maybe to himself) that the young man is just lost, but deserves the happiness that he's found.

5. His Certainty. He'd been so sure, so certain of so many things in his life that he wasn't sure when he had stopped and started wondering. He'd been certain that he could make something of his life, that he was among the best and the brightest (which h had been, he'd just had to work like a dog to prove it.) He had been certain that he'd never love another woman besides his Gloria, and they'd be together for all time (which was still sort of true, he guessed.) He'd been certain that it was his destiny to unlock the secret o the Ninth Chevron (and then Eli had swooped in and done it for him.) He was certain that being on _Destiny_ was his destiny and that was that. But then he'd been taken by the blue aliens after being left on plant by Young (he'd still managed to leave, somehow.) But then Riley had wound up in a near coma ( which he didn't have anything to do with but still agonized over.) But then Chloe had been stranded with lieutenant Scott and Eli on some planet, with no possibility of being rescued (just because they'd all been luck was no reason for him to forget that very frightening possibility.) But then Lieutenant Johansen was going to have to raise her baby on this ship, without her family (he knew it had to be hard on her, but he doubted she'd show it to anyone, even those she seemed to be friends with.) But then Camille had been stabbed with a screw driver (he knows Greer is just as shaken about that as Camille is, and can empathize with the young man.) Sitting at the control consol, still reeling in the aftermath of paranoid hallucinations brought on by a _space tick_, he suddenly doesn't feel so certain in dragging the poor, innocent people into his destiny.

* * *

Cripes, he was hard to do. I'm also not too surprised that I think he wound up being the longest. But there you have it folks and we are officially done! With this one. Because I decide to do a second batch. I'm working on Camille's now, and Vanessa James's as well (though I now need to totally overhaul it in light of 'Pain') and I think I'm going to also work on Riley. Any thoughts? And as always, reviews make me happy.


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